The Dreadful Hunt

by J. E. Thompson

  The Dreadful Hunt

  The White Chronicles, Book Four

  J. E. Thompson

  Copyright © 2021 by J E Thompson

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover by Jake @ J Caleb Design

  ISBN: 978-1-952677-12-0 (Paperback)

  ISBN: 978-1-952677-11-3 (eBook)

  ISBN: 978-1-952677-13-7 (Audiobook)

  To keep up to date with J. E. Thompson’s latest works please sign up on his mailing list on his website: https://jetwrites.com

  Contents

  1. Dungeoneers At Sea

  2. The Pirate Captain

  3. Heading to Shore

  4. Opportunity Awaits

  5. The Lost Dog

  6. To New Adventures

  7. A Storm at Sea

  8. Theo and Prandor

  9. The Young Woman

  10. The Minotaur

  11. Through the Maze

  12. The Shield Wall

  13. Between Two Minotaurs

  14. The Ruined Dwarven Temple

  15. The Frost Wyrm

  16. Arriving in Oerchenbrach

  17. Hedgehog Island

  18. The Cave Troll

  19. The First Island

  20. The Second Island

  21. Blackscale Island

  22. The Cult of the Dragon God

  23. Nightfall in Oerchenbrach

  24. The Central Island

  25. The Jungle Fort

  26. The Hidden Dungeon

  27. Evading The Dragon Cult

  28. Madame Turquoise

  29. Fixing the Staff

  30. Pursuing the Dragon Egg

  31. Summoning the Dragon

  32. Battle Against the Cultists

  33. The Dragon Egg

  34. Meeting the Legendary Dred Wyrm

  35. Leaving Oerchenbrach

  36. Seaweed

  37. Life Underwater

  38. King Korak

  Epilogue: Erik’s Outpost

  Thank You!

  About the Author

  The Adventure Continues

  Dungeoneers At Sea

  The frigid spray of the ocean’s waves soaked Vexx to the bone. He shook the salty droplets out of his hair and grimly held his spot by the ship’s wheel. Kaylin and Shyola clung tightly to the sides of the fishing boat as they were tossed about by the battering waves.

  “C-can’t you get a fire going?” Kaylin asked, screwing her eyes shut as another spout of water sloshed onto the deck, drenching them again.

  “Not when we’re this close, we’ll definitely be spotted.”

  The pirate vessel ahead of them sailed smoothly through the waves. Sentries patrolled the deck, the muted lights from their lanterns moved back and forth across the length of the ship. The soft, drizzling rain provided limited cover, but Vexx hoped that the sentries would be more focused on enduring their shifts than anything else.

  “We’ll pull alongside here,” Vexx grunted, cranking the ship’s wheel to the side. He was far from an expert captain, but he’d gained some experience from working with the half-elf sailor. After a few moments, the small boat bumped against the ship, and the quiet scraping of wood against wood was masked by the distant rumble of thunder.

  “So, w-w-what are we doing again?” Kaylin asked miserably. Her hair was plastered to her forehead, and cold water dripped from the ends of her pointed ears.

  “Don’t you ever pay attention?” Shy snapped. The succubus shrugged off her borrowed poncho, revealing the assemblage of leather and buckles underneath. After centuries of torment in various hells, a bit of cold rain didn’t seem to affect her at all.

  “Easy,” Vexx hushed her, peering up at the ship. “Alright, we’ll review before boarding,” he said, mulling over the specifics of the quest he’d managed to wrangle from a few beleaguered sailors in Golden Streams Landing. They had been boarded at sea by a pirate vessel that proudly displayed the blood-red sails of the Red Titan, and their entire stock of fish and goods had been stolen by pirates. The sailors were lucky to have made it home with their own vessel, and upon docking at Golden Streams Landing, they’d managed to scrape together enough coin to reward anyone brave enough to exact revenge on the Red Titan.

  The sum was low, even by the dungeoneers’ standards, but with the current lack of quests and their existing grudge against the Red Titan, Vexx had accepted.

  “The fishing boat’s captain said he had a giant kraken beak stolen. It’s very valuable, and it has some sentimental value as his grandmother was the one who felled the beast back in her prime. They also had their own goods and money stolen, and we’d agreed to bring it all back. Anything extra is a bonus for our trouble. Got that?”

  “Oh, yes!” Kaylin brightened at the mention of goods and valuables. “And this is the Red Titan we fought before, right? The grumpy gnome with the water mage?”

  “I should have cut his head off when I had the chance,” Shy grumbled. “I won’t make that mistake again.”

  Vexx shrugged. “You forced him to call off his attack so we could get away. What’s done is done. But,” he added, holding up a grappling hook, “we’ll get our revenge.”

  “Let me throw it, Vexx,” Kaylin cut in, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I crafted it, after all, and you know I have a knack for throwing things.”

  Vexx hesitated for a moment. The elf also had a knack for being unlucky in critical moments, and he didn’t want the pirates to sound an alarm before they were aboard. Despite his confidence in taking the job, he didn’t fancy going head to head with an entire pirate crew. Not without the element of surprise, anyway.

  “Alright,” he conceded, passing her the hook. “Just be careful.”

  He backed away and stood beside Shyola, and they watched Kaylin swing the hook in slow circles, staring intently at the ship as the hook swung around and around. Her boot slipped on the wet deck of the fishing boat, and Vexx flinched, expecting the worst.

  “Steady…” he cautioned, internally relieved when Kaylin recovered her footing.

  Not even bothering to reply, Kaylin flung the grappling hook out, and together, the dungeoneers watched as it sailed over the wooden rail and landed on the deck with a muffled thud. Kaylin slowly dragged it back until it lodged firmly into place. After a few moments of vigorous tugging, Kaylin flashed them a pleased grin.

  “Easy!”

  “I’ll go first,” Shyola announced. She strode to the edge of the boat and took the rope from Kaylin before easily hauling herself up and starting the long climb to the top. Vexx studied the distance and cursed his lack of stamina. It was going to take every ounce of his strength.

  But there also isn’t another option, he thought to himself as he grabbed the wet rope that swung in front of him. Above them, Shyola suddenly disappeared, though the rope continued to twitch. Vexx knew that if there was anyone on deck, Shyola would jump at the opportunity to feast on their souls.

  Vexx spared the unsuspecting pirates a brief moment of sympathy and swung out on the rope, squeezing it between his worn leather boots as he started making his way up. By the time he neared the top, all thoughts of sympathy had faded, only to be replaced by a single-minded concentration of making it over the rail. He gasped out a breath as he reached the top, p
ulling himself up and sprawling onto the deck.

  He saw a flash of crimson out of the corner of his eye, and a torch clattered onto the wet deck, immediately snuffed out by the rain. The soft drizzle had turned into a heavy downpour, and as miserable as it was, the rain would at least mask their assault.

  The rope strained as Kaylin started her ascent, and Vexx moved to the side, casting a quick look at his surroundings. His staff stuck out awkwardly from where he managed to secure it in his robes, and he untied it, feeling more at ease when he felt the smooth wood in his palm.

  Suddenly, the faint light of another torch approached from the other side of the ship, and Vexx whirled, pointing his staff at the light.

  “Huh?” a man grunted in confusion.

  In an instant, he was enveloped in a crimson haze, and a second torch dropped to the ground. Shyola’s eyes gleamed red in the darkness, and Vexx glanced away. He told himself it was to preserve his night vision, but deep down, he knew it was to avoid the gruesome sight of the succubus devouring another human soul. By the time he looked back, the torch was snuffed out, and Shy’s heels thunked leisurely on the deck before she appeared in front of him, licking her lips with a grin.

  Behind Vexx came a groan as Kaylin pulled herself aboard.

  “Are we all ready?” Shyola asked.

  “Of course,” Kaylin replied, pulling out the bow strapped to her back. She reached for an arrow in her quiver and nocked it, keeping it in place with the pointer finger of her left hand.

  “The crew’s quarters are just up ahead,” Vexx said in a soft voice as he stalked forward, his staff aimed to fire if anyone stumbled out to meet them. Rather than risking a small flame to illuminate their passage, Vexx decided to carefully inch forward as the pirate ship swayed from side to side. The waves, which felt like crashing storms against their little boat, instead gently rocked the larger vessel.

  Candles illuminated the stairs leading into the hold, and a few hushed voices drifted upward.

  “A dragon egg?”

  “That can’t be real.”

  “Why not? If we were to take it…”

  The whipping winds had calmed, and the heavy rain had eased into a light shower once again. Vexx placed a cautionary foot on the first step and winced as it creaked. He paused for a moment and prayed that they weren’t heard.

  The conversation continued unabated.

  “Allow me, Master,” Shyola whispered in his ear. The succubus shifted into invisibility and brushed past him, sashaying down the stairs and into the hold. Kaylin stepped close beside Vexx, and the two waited in silence.

  “Oh, boys,” Shyola’s teasing voice echoed from within. “Are you having sweet dreams?”

  Any answer was cut off by the sudden crack of a whip. Vexx rushed down the stairs, and in the doorway, he saw Shyola holding her glowing whip, a flickering weapon that cast a burnt orange glow onto the walls of the cramped room. The bloody corpses of three pirates lay at her feet, and the whip disappeared with a careless wave of her hand.

  “He must be in the pirate’s cabin at the stern of the vessel,” Shyola mused.

  “So…which one is the stern?” Kaylin asked, tilting her head. “Is that like…sea south?”

  “It’s this way,” Vexx replied, hurrying through the dim corridor. Snores echoed around the dungeoneers, and they picked up the pace, rushing toward the captain’s quarters.

  If I wanted an easy living, I wouldn’t have become a dungeoneer, Vexx thought, gritting his teeth as he made his way forward, flinching and pausing as the floor creaked under his boots again.

  The captain’s quarters were extravagant. Two candlelit sconces sat on either side of the door, and the wax from the candles dripped steadily under the flickering flames. A small flame burst into life at the top of Vexx’s staff, and the dungeoneers paused at the ornate door.

  “Should we pick the lock?” Kaylin whispered.

  “None of us know how to lockpick,” Vexx hissed back. “Unless you learned that skill when I wasn’t looking. Did you?”

  “Um, no?”

  “In that case…” Vexx waved them back, then raised his staff. “This will have to do!” he called out, heaving a fireball into the door.

  The Pirate Captain

  The dungeoneers burst through the splintered remains of the door, Vexx’s flickering staff now radiating light and heat. A figure stirred in the captain’s quarters, and the man sat up, a sleeping cap pulled low over his head. He blinked blearily at Vexx’s approach.

  “You’re not the Red Titan,” Vexx muttered, but as he looked closer, recognition dawned. “Oh, you’re his water mage!”

  “Samaelastron,” the man corrected huffily, turning his nose up at Vexx. “The captain does not require such spacious lodging.”

  “Where is the Red Titan?” Vexx demanded.

  Samaelastron frowned. “He’s in the cargo bay,” the mage admitted after a moment. “He likes sleeping in piles of gold coins.”

  “That gnome is a real pirate,” Shyola cut in with a sniff.

  “You took some things from a fishing vessel not too long ago,” Vexx said, scanning the captain’s quarters. There were a few odds and ends: a collection of scattered valuables and coins that Kaylin was already stuffing into her rucksack. The water mage glared balefully in silence. “A kraken beak, for one, along with whatever valuable cargo you could take. Where is it?”

  “The beak? Oh…it’s affixed to our prow,” Samaelastron replied. “As for the other goods we snatched, they’re all stowed below decks along with the rest of what we’ve taken.” He snorted in contempt. “We don’t separate them out.”

  “Seems like you’re making quite the living,” Shyola replied. “Master, do you think we should become pirates? It seems like they’re doing quite well for themselves. At least, they were until we showed up.”

  Samaelastron scoffed. “You lot? I don’t think so. Guards!” he yelled out suddenly. Vexx’s eyebrows rose in surprise as the water mage continued shouting. “Guards!”

  Reacting on instinct, Vexx whipped his staff around, striking Samaelastron on the side of the head and knocking him entirely out of bed. The water mage fell to the ground, unconscious, but the sounds of confused chatter and heavy footfalls already echoed through the corridor.

  “Shit,” Vexx muttered, regretting how he hadn’t considered that Samaelastron would call for help.

  “I should take his soul for that,” Shyola added, her eyes glowing crimson as magical energy filled the room.

  “No time. Kaylin, is that everything?”

  “Everything but his staff,” she confirmed, holding up an elegant white staff. “I don’t have space for that.”

  “Never mind that,” Vexx said, already poking his head out through the charred hole that was the door of the captain’s quarters. “We need to get to the cargo bay, then we need to get off this ship. Run!”

  The flicker of a torch revealed the faces of two scruffy pirates as they approached, peering through the gloomy corridor of the pirate ship. “What’s going on in there?”

  Vexx answered with a quick fireball that exploded in the first pirate’s chest with enough of a detonation to send the second one reeling back. Vexx fired a second fireball to finish them off. Stray embers flew through the air as the pirates’ burning torches fell to the ground.

  Probably for the best, Vexx thought, coughing as the smoke and shouting started to spread. He turned away from the growing fire, rushing in the direction to where he figured the cargo bay was. Shyola and Kaylin ran behind him, hot on his heels as they passed through the sleeping quarters. A few heads stuck out to squint at them, answered from time to time by Shyola’s whip and Kaylin’s bow and arrows.

  “Here…no, here!” Vexx called out, feeding power into a rush of flame to light their way. When two other pirates approached along the narrow corridor, Vexx simply cast a Scorching Fireball, throwing them against the deck walls and scattering flames all around them. Vexx leaped over their bodies, followed
close behind by Shyola.

  “Ouch, ouch!” Kaylin danced in place, slapping at her smoldering boots. “Vexx, stop setting everything on fire!”

  She stumbled after them, chased by shouts and a few pursuing pirates.

  “We don’t have a choice!”

  Still, Vexx lowered his staff and dispelled the burning magical energy, opting to ram his shoulder into the door leading into the cargo bay. It burst open, and he staggered through. His eyes widened as he took in the overflowing chests, barrels, and bundles of rope and materials throughout the cargo bay. A few scraped against the wooden deck as the pirate vessel slowly began to turn, the distant shouting fading into the background.

  “Who dares to interrupt my sleep?”

  The furious bellow echoed throughout the hold as the top of a barrel popped open to reveal a shock of red hair. A bleary-eyed gnome emerged, scratching behind his ear. The Red Titan stared at them for a long moment, his bushy red hair sticking up in every direction.

  “Are you new here?”

  “Don’t you recognize me?” Shyola asked in a teasing voice, leaning over and batting her eyelashes at him. “I’m offended, darling!”

  Fear rushed through the pirate captain’s stern expression. “Oh, no.”

  “Oh, yes.” Shyola straightened. “Master?”

  “Yes, take him with us,” Vexx said, barely resisting the urge to dive into the piles of gold coins all around them. He could hear the quiet clinking of metal as Kaylin diligently scooped up everything she could carry into her rucksack. “We’ll probably need him to get out of here,” he grumbled. Despite their successes so far, there were countless pirates throughout the vessel, and it was about time for them to be leaving.